The death of music legend Prince has shocked the world but it also has impacted his family members financially. Prince was generous to his family members who were in need and with his estate currently in limbo some are suffering financial hardships. Surprisingly, comedian George Lopez has stepped in to help members of Prince’s family. According to Lopez, he and Prince had a friendship that stretched back several years and the music icon performed on the “Lopez Tonight” show and sat down for an interview in 2011.
Recently, Lopez confirmed that he loaned $20K to cash strapped members of Prince’s family to help them through this rough time. The value of Prince’s estate is estimated to be close to $300 million and because the singer had no will, the estate must be divided among his family members. So far, there has been a legal battle brewing over the estate as his only surviving full sibling and half-siblings have began arguing over distribution. An initial meeting with lawyers last week resulted in shouting and arguments among the possible beneficiaries. His blood sister Tyka Nelson reportedly left the meeting in tears distraught over her brother’s death and the legal wrangling.
The estate is currently under the control of Bremer Trust, which was appointed as special administrator last week during a probate hearing. Among the many issues which confront the estate is dividing his guitar collection, the NPG record label and thousands of unreleased songs. It is estimated that perhaps thousands of unreleased songs were held in a vault and could be worth several millions. Last week it was announced that the vault was forced open by the special administrator to begin to catalog the vast volume of music. Lopez made his loan to the family quietly and reportedly to avoid any publicity to cover travel and living expenses.
